Press barred as Leevan and Shahzan summoned to court over gag order violation

The Criminal Court has decided to hold closed-door hearings as two journalists were summoned to the court on Tuesday over allegations that they violated a blanket gag order issued by the court in the trial against top officials from local news outlet ‘Adhadhu’ on charges of making false accusations of adultery.

Leevan Ali Naseer and Mohamed Shahzan, both of them journalists at ‘Adhadhu’, were summoned to the Criminal Court on Tuesday.

A spokesperson from the court told Sun that the hearings against them will be conducted behind closed doors.

Leevan had his hearing at 11:00 am, while Shahzan is due to appear at the court at 01:00 am.

Adhadhu’s CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and editor Hassan Mohamed are facing charges of Qazf - an Islamic criminal charge over false accusations of adultery or fornication - in connection with a documentary the outlet released on March 28.

On Sunday, the Criminal Court issued a blanket gag order, which explicitly prohibits any party from circulating the documentary, from directly or indirectly discussing the contents of the video, or making any comments linking any of the defendants or the victim with the documentary.

Both Leevan and Shahzan are accused of violating the gag order, Leevan with an article published under the headline, "Court issues gag order prohibiting discussion on 'Aisha' documentary" and Shahzan over the questions he directed at President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

Shahzan was kicked out of the press briefing on Monday over the questions, and the President’s Office has banned ‘Adhadhu’ from all future press conferences.

Meanwhile, both Fiyaz and Hassan have travel bans issued against them, and are set to appear at court on Wednesday for preliminary hearings in the case against them.